Santa Eulàlia Festival Barcelona 2024



Santa Eulalia Festival 2024


Santa Eulalia festival 2024 takes place around the 12th February every year. Visit our Barcelona events calendar for Santa Eulalia festival dates.

Many of the main events are usually on Sunday 12th February including 'castellers' human castle building. 

Program Santa Eulalia Festival 2024
PDF program Santa Eulalia 2024

'Les Festes de Santa Eulàlia' is Barcelona’s biggest annual festival for children. The festival of Santa Eulàlia is also known as 'La Laia' festival.

Laia is a nickname for Eulalia and a 'giantess' called Laia is the star of the festival. The main Santa Eulalia festival events take place every year on the days around 12th February, which is Santa Eulàlia's day.

At 9.45 am on Santa Eulalia's day an important traditionj takes place which is the raising of the flag 'Penó de Santa Eulàlia' (reproduction of ancient Barcelona penant flag) on the balcony of City Hall on Plaça de Sant Jaume. The flag raising is followed by the opening speech called the 'pregó de Santa Eulàlia.'

The Santa Eulàlia festival programme features more than activities concerts, processions, open house events and other activities of all kinds, mostly for children. The festival takes place at many venues all over Barcelona but it is mostly in the Ciutat Vella old city of Barcelona. You can enjoy many typical Catalan traditions like parades with giants - gegants - and other fantasy figures. You can see castellers human tower building, correfoc fire-runs and many other activities including story-telling, puppets, family workshops, talks, concerts and more. Music plays an very important part in the Santa Eulalia festival and throughout the festivities, music schools, choirs and children's orchestras perform around the city of Barcelona.

'La Laia' also usually includes a children's photography competition called the 'Foto Laia' and the 'Premis Ciutat de Barcelona' awards for shopkeepers at the end of the festival. 

Highlights Festival Santa Eulàlia

dates not confirmed for 2024 yet. 

X Trobada de Gegantons Infantils d’Escola i de les Colles de Barcelona
Giants and Santa Eulalia procession
Date: Saturday
Time: from 11:00 to 12:00
Route: Carrer dels Àngels, Carrer del Pintor Fortuny, La Rambla, Carrer de Ferran, Plaça de Sant Jaume

Correfoc dels petits diables
Childrens firerun
Date: Saturday 
TIme: 6.15pm - 18.15 
Starts:  at Plaça de Sant Jaume
Route: Plaça de Sant Jaume, carrer de Ferran, la Rambla (towards sea), passatge de Colom and ends Plaça Reial at 7pm.

Correfoc de Santa Eulalia
Adults firerun
Date: Saturday 
Time: 8.15pm - 20:15 
Starts and Finish: Plaça Nova at Avinguda de la Catedral at Barcelona Cathedral
Route: Plaça Nova then streets Bisbe, Pietat, Comtes de Barcelona, pla de la Seu and ends on Avinguda de la Catedral.

Diada Castellera
Human tower building day by castellers groups
Date: Sunday 
Time: 11am
Location: Plaça de Sant Jaume

About Santa Eulàlia

Saint Eulalia is a Catholic martyr who is venerated as a saint. Santa Eulàlia is patron of the cathedral and co-patron saint of the city of Barcelona. She is also patron saint of sailors and is invoked against miscarriages, drought, rain, and to protect mariners and ensure safe sailing.

The story of Barcelona's child virgin saint Saint Eulàlia (ca. 290-303 AD) is a gruesome tale. Legend has it that she was a thirteen-year-old Christian girl, who lived in a farmhouse - called 'un mas' in Catalan - in what is now the modern day district of Sarria in the upper part of Barcelona.

Back then this was in the countryside outside the medieval walled city of Barcelona.

Eulalia became a martyr in Barcelona during the persecution of Christians in the reign of Roman emperor Diocletian for protesting to the Roman governor Dacianus against the persecution of Christians, which led to her being cruelly tortured for refusing to recant her Christian faith.

The Romans subjected her to not just one ordeal, but thirteen different and gruesome tortures the most infamous of which was putting her naked into a barrel with filled with glass and embedded knives and rolling it down sloping streets. The streets where she was tortured are in Barcelona's gothic area.

They are Carrer de Sant Sever and Baixada de Santa Eulalia which means 'Saint Eulalia's descent.' Other cruel tortures that Eulalia was subjected to including cutting off her breasts, crucifying her on an X-shaped cross 'crux decussata' and other barbaric deeds until her decapitation.

It is said that when she lost her head, a dove flew out from her neck. Eulàlia is commemorated with many statues and street names throughout Barcelona and she represents justice, solidarity and youth. She is a co-patron saint of Barcelona city alongside the other patron saint 'la Mare de Déu de la Mercè' who is celebrated in September.

Eulalia died on 12th February in the year 303 and this date is now celebrated every year as Saint Eulàlia’s day.

Eulalia's body was first interred in a church originally called 'Santa Maria de les Arenes' - St. Mary of the Sands. which was located on the present site of the gothic basilica Santa Maria del Mar - St. Mary of the Sea church in the Ribera/Born area of Barcelona.

Eulalia's remains were hidden in 713 during the Moorish invasion and only recovered again in 874. On 23rd November 874 AD her remains were ordered to be moved to Barcelona's cathedral - Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia - by Bishop Frodoinus. And in 1339 the remains were moved again this time into the crypt of Barcelona Cathedral, where they have stayed to this day.

The crypt for Santa Eulàlia's remains was designed by 'maestro de obras' Jaime Fabre. Lupo di Francesco created the alabaster sarcophagus.

Legend has it that during the procession to move the bones of Santa Eulalia to their final resting place, an angel came down when the procession reached the Plaça de l'Àngel and confronted one of the clergymen, who confessed to having stolen a toe from the bones of Santa Eulalia.

In the area where Eulalia came from which at the time was outside the city of Barcelona, there were many geese on the fields.

This is why you can see a gaggle of thirteen white geese, one goose for each year of Eulalia's short life, in the cloister of Barcelona cathedral in the 'Well of the Geese' - 'Fuente de las Ocas.' 

Visit the official Santa Eulalia website (in Catalan and Spanish) for more information about Santa Eulalia events or visit your local Barcelona library, civic centre and market, where you can find information about activities during the Santa Eulalia festival in your area of Barcelona.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 25 January 2024 09:23
 
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